I am really confused about the definition between all these tools as it seems like all are kind of meetings or working groups to gather requirements!!! Saving Changes...
- Meetings have a more general purpose with a wider heterogenous audience. I personally find meetings very useful at the beginning to understand the issues/needs and during implementation to gather punctual information or achieve decision in a particular topic.
- Focus groups have a more defined purpose, selected audience (e.g. selected pilot end users) and structured agenda. They are used for eliciting requirements. I personally find meetings very useful when you already have an idea of the magnitude of the problem but you still miss the impact/implications in different types of users.
- Facilitated workshops are more structured and the facilitator is neutral to the problem and experienced in managing workshops efficiently. I find them useful when trying to bring in a new technology from scratch.
- Brainstorming is less structured, the goal is to bring and discussed ideas. Essentially, the facilitator presents the topic and participant can propose (or not propose) ideas, the ideas can then be grouped/prioritised...It is typically used for finding solution to a problem, after eliciting requirements/needs. I find them useful when looking for ideas once the problem is understood. Specially when the stakeholders are very heterogeneous and have different/conflicting interests, brainstorming can help to find a solution accepted by everyone (as everyone contributed to it)
- Nominal Group technique is used for everything from eliciting requirement to finding the solution. Compared to other techniques, this one is far more structure. The main advantage is that it ensures everyone's to participation. The main disadvantage is that it consumes more time than other techniques. Essentially, the facilitator presents the topic, everyone thinks ideas, the facilitator collects and posts ideas (so that everyone sees all the ideas), everyone explains his ideas, everyone votes. The outcome is a prioritised list of ideas (requirements, needs, solutions). Similar to the Nominal Group Technique is the Delphi technique, the main difference between the two is that the Delphi technique is anonymous.I find it of great help when you have stakeholders in different levels of or with different weight in the decision making process e.g. managers and subordines
Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten AssociatesNew Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Mar 13, 2017 5:40 PM
Replying to Maria Isabel Martin Serrano
...
Hi Elaria,
- Meetings have a more general purpose with a wider heterogenous audience. I personally find meetings very useful at the beginning to understand the issues/needs and during implementation to gather punctual information or achieve decision in a particular topic.
- Focus groups have a more defined purpose, selected audience (e.g. selected pilot end users) and structured agenda. They are used for eliciting requirements. I personally find meetings very useful when you already have an idea of the magnitude of the problem but you still miss the impact/implications in different types of users.
- Facilitated workshops are more structured and the facilitator is neutral to the problem and experienced in managing workshops efficiently. I find them useful when trying to bring in a new technology from scratch.
- Brainstorming is less structured, the goal is to bring and discussed ideas. Essentially, the facilitator presents the topic and participant can propose (or not propose) ideas, the ideas can then be grouped/prioritised...It is typically used for finding solution to a problem, after eliciting requirements/needs. I find them useful when looking for ideas once the problem is understood. Specially when the stakeholders are very heterogeneous and have different/conflicting interests, brainstorming can help to find a solution accepted by everyone (as everyone contributed to it)
- Nominal Group technique is used for everything from eliciting requirement to finding the solution. Compared to other techniques, this one is far more structure. The main advantage is that it ensures everyone's to participation. The main disadvantage is that it consumes more time than other techniques. Essentially, the facilitator presents the topic, everyone thinks ideas, the facilitator collects and posts ideas (so that everyone sees all the ideas), everyone explains his ideas, everyone votes. The outcome is a prioritised list of ideas (requirements, needs, solutions). Similar to the Nominal Group Technique is the Delphi technique, the main difference between the two is that the Delphi technique is anonymous.I find it of great help when you have stakeholders in different levels of or with different weight in the decision making process e.g. managers and subordines
- Meetings have a more general purpose with a wider heterogenous audience. I personally find meetings very useful at the beginning to understand the issues/needs and during implementation to gather punctual information or achieve decision in a particular topic.
- Focus groups have a more defined purpose, selected audience (e.g. selected pilot end users) and structured agenda. They are used for eliciting requirements. I personally find meetings very useful when you already have an idea of the magnitude of the problem but you still miss the impact/implications in different types of users.
- Facilitated workshops are more structured and the facilitator is neutral to the problem and experienced in managing workshops efficiently. I find them useful when trying to bring in a new technology from scratch.
- Brainstorming is less structured, the goal is to bring and discussed ideas. Essentially, the facilitator presents the topic and participant can propose (or not propose) ideas, the ideas can then be grouped/prioritised...It is typically used for finding solution to a problem, after eliciting requirements/needs. I find them useful when looking for ideas once the problem is understood. Specially when the stakeholders are very heterogeneous and have different/conflicting interests, brainstorming can help to find a solution accepted by everyone (as everyone contributed to it)
- Nominal Group technique is used for everything from eliciting requirement to finding the solution. Compared to other techniques, this one is far more structure. The main advantage is that it ensures everyone's to participation. The main disadvantage is that it consumes more time than other techniques. Essentially, the facilitator presents the topic, everyone thinks ideas, the facilitator collects and posts ideas (so that everyone sees all the ideas), everyone explains his ideas, everyone votes. The outcome is a prioritised list of ideas (requirements, needs, solutions). Similar to the Nominal Group Technique is the Delphi technique, the main difference between the two is that the Delphi technique is anonymous.I find it of great help when you have stakeholders in different levels of or with different weight in the decision making process e.g. managers and subordines
Thank you Elaria, All.
PMP Book references methodologies/techniques like the ones you mentioned for BA, QA, Leadership. Furthering your knowledge on them can only improve your projects and contribute to your career. Try to run a brainstorming session next time you need to make a decision versus having a regular meeting and you will see the results immediately e.g. how participants are much more proactive and engaged the moment they walk in the session :)
I just commenced a series of posts on BA in LinkedIn very much based in my experience. Starting with Vendor selection, continuing with techniques for requirements elicitation.
I will update this thread when I get there. So far:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/lost-sale-a...ave-come-marisa
Hi Elaria, in addition to Maria's excellent advice and summary, I would also like to share a free ebook with some tips for running effective project meetings. The ebook includes sample agendas for sponsor and team meetings, and brainstorms, https://www.brightwork.com/resources/effec...t-meetings-101. Enjoy and good luck with your next meeting! Saving Changes...
Thank you Elaria, All.
PMP Book references methodologies/techniques like the ones you mentioned for BA, QA, Leadership. Furthering your knowledge on them can only improve your projects and contribute to your career. Try to run a brainstorming session next time you need to make a decision versus having a regular meeting and you will see the results immediately e.g. how participants are much more proactive and engaged the moment they walk in the session :)
I just commenced a series of posts on BA in LinkedIn very much based in my experience. Starting with Vendor selection, continuing with techniques for requirements elicitation.
I will update this thread when I get there. So far:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/lost-sale-a...ave-come-marisa Saving Changes...
Markus KopkoAI Enabler for Project & Program Mgmt | Founder PMotion.ai / The PM
AI Coach| PMotion.aiHamburg, Hamburg, Germany
great inputs here so far, just want to add a few thoughts, this is an excerpt out of my "let me be your PMP prep guide" - program:
========================
Collect Requirements – Tools and Techniques
Defining requirements and managing customer expectations is a key part of the collect requirements process. Stakeholders face several challenges in articulating their requirements. Several tools and techniques are used to facilitate this process and capture the exact and detailed requirements from the subject matter experts and the business process owners:
Interviews Interviews are an information gathering technique and generally involve one-on-one communication with relevant stakeholders or subject matter experts in a formal or informal setting. The questions could be prepared ahead of time or asked spontaneously and the responses are recorded. Interviews could also be done with multiple interviewers and / or multiple interviewees.
Focus Groups Focus groups is a technique involving interactive discussion among subject matter experts and relevant stakeholders related to the expectations, features and other aspects about a proposed product, service or result. The discussion is facilitated by a trained moderator.
Facilitated Workshops Facilitated Workshops bring cross-functional stakeholders on a common platform to discuss and reach agreements. This is especially critical for consensus building and when issue resolution is required with inputs from multiple stakeholders. They help to define cross-functional requirements for the product or service much faster compared to other techniques like interviews. Joint Application Design and Quality Function Deployment are specific applications of this technique.
Group Creativity Techniques Group creativity techniques involve stimulating creativity and new ideas using group activities. Some of the more commonly used group creativity techniques are brainstorming, Delphi technique, nominal group technique, mind mapping and affinity diagrams.
Brainstorming Brainstorming popularized by Alex Faickney Osborn in the 1953 book Applied Imagination, involves spontaneous contribution of ideas by the group members around a specific issue, problem or requirement. The objective of brainstorming in a group is to reduce social inhibitions among group members and stimulate fresh ideas generation leading to an increase in overall creativity of the group.
Delphi Technique Delphi technique is an information gathering technique used primarily for gaining consensus from several experts on a subject and helps to reduce bias. The experts take part anonymously with the help of a facilitator. The facilitator solicits ideas and comments from the experts with help of a questionnaire, summarizing the responses and circulating for further comments till a consensus is reached.
Nominal Group Technique Nominal group technique is an enhanced brainstorming technique and involves voting to rank and filter ideas for selection based on priority or for further brainstorming exercises.
Mind Mapping Mind mapping involves outlining information in a spider web style. Ideas or key items for discussion are outlined around a central node using branches and sub branches. Visual representation of data in mind mapping technique helps in understanding and clarity.
Affinity Diagram Affinity diagram helps large number of ideas generated from brainstorming and other techniques to be sorted based on thier natural relationships for further review and analysis.
Group Decision Making Techniques Group Decision Making Techniques involve assessing alternatives in a group setting and reaching consensus or agreement leading to a final decision. Multiple methods can be used for this purpose. Some of them are unanimity (consensus among entire group on a course of action), majority (consensus among majority of group on a course of action), plurality (consensus among large group on a course of action even though they might not hold majority) and dictatorship (key stakeholder taking the decision unilaterally).
Questionnaires and surveys Questionnaires and surveys is a technique that involves seeking response from participants using either written or on-line questionnaires and surveys. This is generally used when the target population is very large. The responses could be sent for further statistical analysis if needed.
Observations Observations is an information gathering technique which involves another person – the observer to sit next to the individuals doing the tasks. Observations technique is especially useful for situations when the task details are not very well documented or the task executors have difficulty in articulating. In certain cases, the observer might participate in the task execution and are referred to as “participant observers”.
Prototyping Prototyping is a technique that involves creation of a working model or mock-up of the product to be developed as part of the project. The prototype may not have all the functionality but serves as a proof of concept for idea verification/further analysis. An iterative process of prototype creation, testing and feedback is followed before reaching a final stage.
==============================
Hope it helps a bit further ...
Regards,
Markus Saving Changes...
Muhammad AliProject Manager| Al-Toukhi for Contracting, Trading & IndustryHail, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia
Mar 13, 2017 5:40 PM
Replying to Maria Isabel Martin Serrano
...
Hi Elaria,
- Meetings have a more general purpose with a wider heterogenous audience. I personally find meetings very useful at the beginning to understand the issues/needs and during implementation to gather punctual information or achieve decision in a particular topic.
- Focus groups have a more defined purpose, selected audience (e.g. selected pilot end users) and structured agenda. They are used for eliciting requirements. I personally find meetings very useful when you already have an idea of the magnitude of the problem but you still miss the impact/implications in different types of users.
- Facilitated workshops are more structured and the facilitator is neutral to the problem and experienced in managing workshops efficiently. I find them useful when trying to bring in a new technology from scratch.
- Brainstorming is less structured, the goal is to bring and discussed ideas. Essentially, the facilitator presents the topic and participant can propose (or not propose) ideas, the ideas can then be grouped/prioritised...It is typically used for finding solution to a problem, after eliciting requirements/needs. I find them useful when looking for ideas once the problem is understood. Specially when the stakeholders are very heterogeneous and have different/conflicting interests, brainstorming can help to find a solution accepted by everyone (as everyone contributed to it)
- Nominal Group technique is used for everything from eliciting requirement to finding the solution. Compared to other techniques, this one is far more structure. The main advantage is that it ensures everyone's to participation. The main disadvantage is that it consumes more time than other techniques. Essentially, the facilitator presents the topic, everyone thinks ideas, the facilitator collects and posts ideas (so that everyone sees all the ideas), everyone explains his ideas, everyone votes. The outcome is a prioritised list of ideas (requirements, needs, solutions). Similar to the Nominal Group Technique is the Delphi technique, the main difference between the two is that the Delphi technique is anonymous.I find it of great help when you have stakeholders in different levels of or with different weight in the decision making process e.g. managers and subordines
Community Champion
